There is an ever increasing demand for power conversion and regulation circuitry to operate with increased efficiency and reduced power to accommodate the continuous reduction in size of electronic portable devices. Many times these devices are battery powered, and it is desirable to utilize as little power as possible to operate these devices so that the battery life is extended. Switching converters have been implemented as an efficient mechanism for providing a regulated output. One such type of converter is known as a switching regulator or switching converter, which controls the flow of power to a load by controlling an on and off duty-cycle of one or more switches coupled to the load. Many different classes of switching converters exist today.
One type of switching converter employs a single inductor and multiple outputs, such that energy of the inductor can be switched between the multiple outputs to regulate each of the outputs. This type of switching converter is advantageous in that multiple outputs of varying magnitudes can be provided without the need of multiple inductors. To ensure reliable performance, switching converter designers often include voltage sensing feedback to monitor the voltage output of a switching converter. Such feedback, however, can be costly and can require a number of additional circuit components, particularly for a switching converter with multiple outputs.